Muzzle or not.....

I have a 10mth old jack russell. She insists n picking up anything and everything when out walking, twigs, sticks, bees, rabbit droppings etc etc

I know she will eventually grow out of this phase but I am worried about her picking somthing up that mya harm her, she has just recently had a tummy upset which I am sure was as a result of having eaten a berry whilst out, she gets very cunning at picking things up so I dont always notice, if I do notice I alwys tell her to drop or I get it out of her mouth.

Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do to stop her..I really dont want to have to put a muzzle on her but I am starting to think this is the only way...

Please help :confused:

Hello fellow JRT owner! And welcome to Pet Talk!

Lexi owns me, she is in my siggy below!

If you really do not want to muzzle her, maybe you could get a Halti, its just like a horse halter, and you lead them where you want. It works very well and eventually she will just learn to walk where you want. It still gives her the freedom to pant, drink, bark, whatever, but if she goes near something you can just tug on the leash slightly and the little ring will move upwards on it and close her mouth, then say NO and lead her away.

-OR-

Take the training method, when your JRT goes up to something she wants to pick up something, tug the leash quickly away and give a stern and sharp NO! When she walks away when you say this, give her a treat and lots of praise! She will learn that picking things up does not get her a treat and more unsastisfied words. When she just looks at something or sniffs it, and DOES NOT pick it up, say GOOD GIRL! Give her a treat and walk away.

I hope that helps! Let us know how everything goes! :D

Welcome to Pet Talk!!! I am owned by three JRT's myself, Micki, Mini and Kyra!

You could teach her the LEAVE IT command. When she is going up to an undesirable object tell her to leave it and guide her away, then she gets tons of praise/treats. Soon she will understand that if she leaves it then she will get a reward and it should make walking her a better experience! I also find Halti's to be very useful but it won't really solve the problem!

Good luck with her!!!

When Fenway puts his nose in things he's not supposed to, I say LEAVE IT. It works.

Since your JRT is still a puppy this problem will probably be fairly easy to control with some consistant training.

Have you and your dog been trough training courses yet? I reccomend you do some basic obedience with him. It will help you two bond and it will also just help general things and make him no that your alfa.

The leave it command is also crucial for your puppy to know. There are various ways of teaching this command but the way my previous dog learned it very simple. Put your dog on a leash and drop a treat infront of it but just out of the dogs reach. When you drop the treat say "leave it". The dog will try to lunge at it and get the treat but do not give in and give it to him. When the dog calms down and looks at you say "yes" and give him a treat. Do this alot, repetition is good. When you think you have it down pat, switch the treat up and see if it is still consistant.

Eventually you will be able to take your dogs on walks and say leave it and they will stop sniffing/eating.

Do NOT use a muzzle. A problem like this can easily be fixed and a muzzle is not solving the problem at all. It is just putting a band aid over the situation.

Thanks for your comments..powerful

I dont want to go down the route of muzzling her so I will try training her to know the Leave command. Thanks for the tips on how to do this :0)

Leave it or Off has worked well for us with our dogs. You could also try the Gentle Leader or Halti--they are not muzzles (they go over the dogs face but the dog can still open its mouth/eat/etc) and I have found the Gentle Leader to be amazing. Our one beagle was nearly impossible to walk and he will do 'off' inside the house but not so reliably when we are outside on walks. The Gentle Leader calls itself something like the 10 minute attitude adjuster and it really is. Walks are much more fun now and I know our dog is safe from himself!

If the dog wants something in it's mouth, why not let her take one of her favorite possessions along for the walk too? Should work better than muzzling and a good alternative until the dog can be trained or outgrow the habit of picking up everything.